1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to the field of crop processing equipment, and more particularly to an apparatus for destemming and removing vegetative material from a target crop.
2. Discussion of Related Art Including Information Disclosed Under 37 CFR §§1.97, 1.98
It is well known to use automated methods for removing vegetable crops such as tomatoes and peppers. The machinery typically comprises devices that shake, agitate or oscillate the produce so as to break the vegetables free from their attached vines. For instance, a typical approach utilizes an agitating conveyor having spaced openings of such a size that when the vegetables or fruit are shaken free from the vine, the valuable fruit/vegetable falls through the conveyor openings and is collected in receptacles below the conveyor. The vegetative material remains on the conveyor and is transported to a waste collection, composting, and/or disposal area.
Another method for segregating and removing vines, leaves or stems employ screw feeders that deposit material into a separating apparatus that has internal radially extending paddles, tines or brushes that rotate the material against a slotted surface. The slots are of a particular width to accept the produce of interest. The slots may be in the form of spaced rollers, may be flat wire or rodded grates or may be cylinders with apertures cut through the surface.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,846,129, to Dragt, discloses an apparatus for separating produce from a produce vine using a cylindrical shaker brush assembly having a plurality of spaced-apart tines extending radially outwardly, mounted to a frame for rotation about an axis. The brushes are vibrated during rotation creating a shaker brush assembly. The free ends of the tines are in close proximity to the conveyor assembly, creating contact between the crop and the shaker brush assembly. Exemplary patents include the following:
U.S. Pat. No. 5,203,259, to Miedema, discloses a fruit destemmer having a continuous conveyor belt made up of a plurality of counter-rotating metal rollers rotatably supported at each end by endless chains. The fruit destemmer has an inclined bed with a driven shaft at each end. Each driven shaft has a wheel at one end and a sprocket at the other with the positioning of the wheel and sprocket being reversed on the other drive shaft. The continuous chains are driven by spaced sprockets mounted on a shaft positioned below the inclined bed. A rotatably mounted shaft, having a wheel mounted on each end, presses each continuous chain into close contact with the driving sprockets. The rollers used to form the endless fruit conveying belt are made of hard anodized aluminum which has a surface pattern to reduce fruit skinning. The rollers rotate counter to each other by a pair of spaced and adjustable segmented gear racks. The number of segments in contact with the rollers can be decreased to reduce fruit damage as the fruit becomes softer.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,936,205, to Flora, teaches a machine for destemming cherries. The fruit is moved over a transport frame on an endless belt. A stem wiper blade is rotated just above the surface of the fruit. A source of rapid horizontal motion is provided for the transport frame to cause the fruit to rotate so that the stems are elevated into the path of a blade and the blade detaches the stems from the fruit.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,542,687, to Johnson, discloses an apparatus for removing stems, dirt, and debris from picked green peanuts. Green peanuts are fed into a destemmer having a slotted sloping plate through which rotating slotted destemmer wheels project. The stems are caught in the wheel slots and separated from the peanuts as the wheels rotate through the plate slots. The destemmed peanuts are deposited in a washing tank in which rotating cylindrical brushes force the peanuts under water, removing dirt and debris.
The present invention provides novel improvements to the devices disclosed in the aforementioned references. A notable improvement consists of the combined use of a cutting cylinder and brush rollers to clean vegetative matter from a target crop.
The foregoing patents reflect the current state of the art of which the present inventor is aware. Reference to, and discussion of, these patents is intended to aid in discharging Applicant's prospective duty of candor in disclosing information during examination that may be materially relevant to the allowability of claims to the present invention. However, it is respectfully submitted that none of the above-indicated patents disclose, teach, suggest, show, or otherwise render obvious, either singly or when considered in combination, the invention described herein.